'Here at the BHF we have many important heart health messages to convey to the community. We value the role of the Plain English Campaign in helping us communicate sometimes complex medical terminology in a language that is easy for people to understand. The widespread use of our publications and materials as information resources is testimony to that.'Claire O'Neill, British Heart Foundation

All of us need medical information at some point in our lives. The medical sector has a responsibility to make sure that all its public information is accurate, clear and easy to understand. Whether it is the instructions on a packet of painkillers, or a leaflet about diabetes, people have a right to understand their condition and how to treat it.

We have done a great deal of work on medical documents for a range of organisations, but we are determined to increase the medical profession's awareness of writing in plain English. Luckily we are not alone. There are several groups who lobby the industry about its public information. We have some links with the Patient Information Forum, an independent group campaigning for developing, producing, and distributing high-quality information for patients, carers, and their families.

As a campaign, one of our first targets was the British government. The proposals and decisions politicians make affect all of us, all the time. Yet many of us feel increasingly alienated from political matters. Like many industries, there is a huge amount of 'insider speak' and jargon. This is fine between like-minded people, but many people do not understand these terms when used in information for the public.

We try to convince politicians that difficult matters can be explained clearly. The only way to get people interested in political matters is to make them easy to understand. With polling booths half-empty, it seems that politicians need to look at how they communicate.

Everybody has a right to understand the issues that concern them, however complicated they may be. Recently, a Parliamentary bill (the Coroner's Draft Reform Bill) was issued to the House of Commons. It was the first ever bill to contain a plain English translation alongside each clause in the bill. Although improvements could still be made to the translation, it was a mark of progress. We hope that in the future, all documents of its kind will be produced in this way.

Although great improvements have been made, there is still a long way to go. We will never take our eyes off the gobbledygook monster. We want your examples of political documents or broadcasts that are not communicated clearly. You can e-mail them to info@plainenglish.co.uk.